DHC Lecture mit Marina Brownlee (Princeton University)

Cervantine Curiosity and the English Stage

This paper took as its point of departure the tale of the Curioso Impertinente from Don Quijote I, 33-35, a text that has not only given rise to an intriguing diversity of conflicting interpretations, to numerous Spanish plays as well, but in addition, to at least six English works for the stage in the 17th_century alone.

Benjamin’s concept of allegory, developed from The Origins of German TragicDrama, served to analyze the Cervantine prose text as well as to illuminate the discussion of its English theatrical adaptation.

An attempt was made to account for the generic shift from the prose text designed to be read aloud by one narrator to the multimedial nature of theater, as well as to determine whether the theatrical appropriations conform to a consistently English set of cultural values and controversies.